Pakistani cleric Tahir-ul Qadri has announced to set up ‘Awami Parliament’ (People’s Parliament) on Tuesday, as he refused to meet the PML-N government- appointed committee of lawmakers to hold talks with him.

“We will set up a new Awami Parliament here at 5 pm,” Qadri told his thousands of supporters at Aabpara square here past midnight at the end of a 48-hour deadline given by him to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to quit.

Qadri did not spell out the criteria for constituting the Awami Parliament but said its decisions will be respected.

“The Awami Parliament will decide the future course of action and the destiny of the nation is going to change,” he said.

The cleric also refused to meet an independent committee of lawmakers set up by the PML-N government to hold talks with him.

Qadri has already declared the existing parliament a sham as it consisted of “tainted” lawmakers who came to power through “rigged elections”.

The cleric also refused to meet an independent committee of lawmakers set up by the PML-N government to hold talks with him to end the protests.